Beyond Loss honored the Didi Hirsch program, which runs support groups for people who have lost loved ones to suicide, “to acknowledge your compassionate care of the grieving community…and to honor your organization as a very important community partner,” said Lowayne Shieh, Volunteer Chaplain at the Medical Center and Chair of the Beyond Loss Event Planning Committee.

Didi Hirsch’s Suicide Prevention Center pioneered suicidal loss bereavement groups in 1981. Known as Survivors After Suicide, the support group model has been replicated around the world.

Several co-facilitators of Didi Hirsch’s Survivors After Suicide support groups attended the event at La Canada Presbyterian Church. Rick Mogil, who is Program Director of Didi Hirsch’s Suicide Bereavement Services, was unable to attend, so Suicide Prevention Center Program Coordinator Rebecca Stock accepted the award on his behalf.

Didi Hirsch’s Bereavement Services program has a longstanding partnership with Beyond Loss. Many co-facilitators of the eight-week support groups have received bereavement training from Beyond Loss Founder Rev. Alice Zulli, who also received the Spirit Leader Award.

Also honored at the event were Forest Lawn, which received the Spirit Corporate Partner Award, and certified bereavement facilitators, chaplain volunteers and interns who received the Spirit Volunteer Award. California Assemblymember Mike Gatto (43rd District) presented Didi Hirsch with a certificate of recognition for its “dedication to protecting survivors of suicide by offering them support and community.”